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2020 RAV4 TRD edition driving on dirt road

Is the Toyota RAV4 All Wheel Drive?

When it comes to buying a capable SUV, there are a lot of options on the market. From full-sized to compact SUVs, it can be hard to make a choice even on what to take time testing driving. The best way to tackle the problem is to decide what is important to you and what …

When it comes to buying a capable SUV, there are a lot of options on the market. From full-sized to compact SUVs, it can be hard to make a choice even on what to take time testing driving. The best way to tackle the problem is to decide what is important to you and what you want from an SUV. For some people, having something family-oriented is the most important, and they usually end up in a reliable choice like the Honda CR-V. For others, we want a mixture of practicality and sport, so many want their SUV to have all-wheel drive. Does the popular Toyota RAV4 even come with an all-wheel-drive?

The Toyota RAV4 is truly off-road able

The Toyota RAV4 is a popular SUV for so many reasons. On the used car market, you can get them for a real bargain, but you can also buy them brand new for a reasonable price. There are several trim levels to pick from, which gives this spunky SUV even more variety and options. The RAV4 is more than just a pretty SUV, though.

A Toyota RAV4 Prime being debuted
A new Toyota RAV4 Prime | FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

The new generation of the Toyota RAV4 shows that the manufacturer took a lot of criticisms to heart, and the improvements are pretty significant. That’s probably why it’s still such a popular vehicle. They are an excellent choice for a daily driver because they get relatively decent gas mileage, but they are also spacious enough to be a practical family vehicle as well. What makes the RAV4 great is the off-road capabilities, which, as you might expect, do require some essential features — like all-wheel drive.

More than off-road practicality

If you are looking to take your RAV4 off-roading, the TRD trim level is the obvious choice. For the most part, the Toyota RAV4 is not actually all-wheel drive, which was something even I was surprised to find out. The standard models and a majority of the trim levels available for the SUV are actually front-wheel drive. Not to worry, there are some all-wheel drive options available.

2019 Toyota RAV4 is on display during the New York Autoshow
The Toyota RAV4 | Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

If you are looking for a Toyota RAV4 and having all wheel drive is important to you, it is important to pay attention to what trim levels you are looking at. Most of the trim levels come with the standard front wheel drive, but the Adventure and TRD Off-Road trim levels come with the all wheel drive you are looking for.

This sounds like a downfall for the Toyota RAV4, because we often think of it hand-in-hand with all of the commercials we see of the vehicle off-roading. For some people having a front-wheel-drive SUV isn’t a deal breaker, and because there are still some options to get all wheel drive we aren’t too upset. As long as you are interested in the two specific trim levels designed for off-roading, or even maybe some overlanding, the variety in trims for this SUV won’t leave you disappointed.

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